John Skaggs, Big City Homicide Detective With A Mayberry Heart, Retires From LAPD After 30 Years Of Service

February, 2005 – LAPD Officer Sam Marullo and his homicide training officer Det. John Skaggs are driving past the sprawling U.S. Post Office facility on Central and Florence avenues in South Central Los Angeles.

 “You know, Marullo, this is the largest mail facility west of the Mississippi.”

 Murullo looks up from a Grape Street murder book he’s been studying and says “Dayum!”

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Besides his father Ronnie, who was a homicide detective for the Long Beach Police Department, there was a fictional detective who inspired John Skaggs to go into law enforcement. But, it was not super cool Steve McQueen with his ’68 Mustang 390 GT of “Bullitt” or deadly Clint Eastwood with his .44 magnum of “Dirty Harry”. It was that soft-spoken, kind and – most of all – respectful Sheriff Andy Taylor of Mayberry on “The Andy Griffith Show.”

 “My favorite TV show as a kid and today was the cop show ‘Andy Griffith’,” said Skaggs, a 30-year veteran of the LAPD who is retiring today. “There was some life lesson learned from every episode about morals and relationships.  I have taken away many ideas from that show on how to treat people with respect, and deal with courage and bravery.”

Although Skaggs, 52, grew up in Long Beach around cops – his uncle was a deputy chief for the LAPD who retired in 1986 – he didn’t seriously consider law enforcement as a career until he was about 17. 

“I got into some trouble as a kid and decided I needed to get away from some bad influences. Soon after, I developed my desire to be a police officer and joined the police academy and never looked back.”

After graduating, he requested to be sent to either of the city’s two highest crime rate areas. 

“I chose 77th Street Division, which covers South-Central, and Southeast Division, which covers Watts.  These two were the busiest Divisions, and they had the largest gang problems.”

Skaggs knew from going to high school in Long Beach and witnessing what was happening on inner city streets and in schools that gang enforcement would be where he could have the biggest impact on people's quality of life.

“The main reason I joined LAPD, was because they were the only police department with a true gang unit.  Their Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums (CRASH) Unit was devoted to one thing, gang suppression.  I joined the LAPD to be a gang officer. I could chase gang members that were responsible for most violent crimes and completely ruined communities with fear and intimidation.”

But, along the wide ride, Skaggs discovered something many cops, journalists and regular folk don’t realize; Gang members are humans, too.

“One thing that stands out is the number of gangsters I built friendly relationships with that were later killed,” Skaggs said. “Many tried to get out of 'hood life.  I observed very often that I was the only person in their lives that ever encouraged them to go legit and get an education or job that would lead to a career.  So many of them had no positive influence in their lives and no role models.”

Rob Bub, who recently retired after 22 years as an LAPD homicide detective, was Skaggs' first field training officer.

“If you are a training officer, John was the guy wanted to have,” said retired LAPD homicide detective Rob Bub, who was Skaggs’ training officer.

“John knew what he didn’t know and what he needed to learn,” said Bub

The very first day Bub was training Skaggs, they got a call for a man with a knife in a domestic dispute.

“We roll up on the scene and we go around the back of the house on Figueroa,” explained Bub. “And there was this Hispanic guy with a 12-inch kitchen knife. I’m thinking John’s first shift and we are gonna end up dumping somebody.”

The two took up tactical positions and Bub had an idea. He knew Skaggs was fresh out of the academy where they teach rudimentary Spanish.

“Knock him dead with your Spanish,” Bub told Skaggs. “And John talked him out of it. He dropped the knife. It was refreshing to see someone on their first day who knew what to do.”

Christopher Barling, homicide coordinator of the 77th , met Skaggs 30 years ago at the police academy. They were at CRASH together and partners on and off for five years at Southeast. 

“Without a doubt John is one of the best homicide detectives in the LAPD thanks, in large part, to his persistence and stubbornness,” said Barling.“  The characteristics of persistence is not unique among detectives, but John Skaggs has perfected it. "He’s like that old salesman who is about to get shut down and told to leave and at the very last moment, he sticks his foot in front of the closing door.”

It’s not breaking news that the most difficult part of the murder investigations, especially on the Southside of Los Angeles, is getting witnesses. There is the fear of retaliation. Fear of going to court. Fear of being labeled a snitch. And, coming in first place, the fear of getting shot to death for cooperating with the dreaded enemy; the police.

Barling said Skaggs had and knack for getting people to open-up.

“One of John’s greatest gifts was the ability to get someone on his side. He is going to take care of a witness. He has this talent for building a bond with people. And he is very sincere.”

Skaggs also had the talent for pissing people off, Barling said. His fellow detectives, the younger officers, and even his captains and commanders were fair game..

“As his partner, sometimes John’s stubbornness drove me crazy,” Barling said. “He is so strong willed, so strongly opinionated that sometimes he did not want to listen to anyone.”

And Skaggs was never one to apply a coat of sugar.

“People don’t like to hear they are wrong, but Skaggs had no problem telling people what he thought of them,” said Barling. “Me, I might try and finesse a situation. But, John would just tell them 'You’re wrong'."

“In John’s world, you are either helpful or you are a dumb ass.”

LAPD Chief of Police Charlie Beck lavished praise on Skaggs.

“There is nothing more honorable in policing than detective work,” Beck said via E-mail.  “The dogged determination and intelligent pursuit of the truth required are the best of our qualities.  John Skaggs was born to be just such a detective. He is relentless and brilliant in his hunt for the worst mankind has to offer.  I have depended on him to solve our most important cases.”

In 2009, Beck promoted Skaggs to head the West Bureau Homicide which is currently located at the Olympic Division on Vermont and 11th Street.

“I was proud to promote him so he could pass his skills to those under his command,” Beck said.  “I will miss having him to rely on, but his retirement is well earned.”

Skaggs will expand his role as a teacher and consultant for government programs that assist police departments across the country with high homicide rates and low clearances.

Skaggs will likely teach these departments the value of a good CI.  A CI, or Confidential Informant, is an essential player for a successful homicide detective. Skaggs had some of the best.

“We would be stuck on a case, and John would go off somewhere and talk to one of his informants,” said Sal LaBarbera. another storied LAPD homicide detective who retired in 2015. “Ten, 20 minutes later, he’d come back with some vital information. I’d say ‘How the hell did you get that?’ Even though I knew.”

One of Skaggs prime CI’s talked about him with the proviso her name would not be used.

“I was arrested for prostituting on Figueroa 19, 20  years ago or so and I told the officer ‘What if I told you about a murder?’ Next thing I knew I was taking to John Skaggs. He told me to trust him and I did. Was one of my best decisions. One thing about John. If he gave you his word, he honored it. His word was his bond.”

The woman, hooked on crack, was later involved with a carjacking and did six years in prison. When she got out, she called on Skaggs.

“He was there for me. He helped me stay sober.   I got in a [drug and alcohol] treatment place and John would come visit me.”

She has been clean and sober for six years now.

“Five of those six years John was there to hand me my sobriety cake,” she said. “When life shows up and I need that shoulder to cry on, John is there for me.”

August, 2005 – LAPD Officer Sam Marullo and his homicide training officer Det. John Skaggs are driving by the sprawling U.S. Post Office facility on Central and Florence avenues in South Central Los Angeles.

 Marullo’s head is deep into a Mad Swan Bloods vs. Main Street Crip killing.

 Skaggs points at the post officer.

 “You know, Sam, this is the largest mail facility west of the Mississippi.”

 “I didn’t know that. Must be a whole lotta letters up in there.”

 LaBarbera said Skaggs solved more of his cases than anyone he knew.  “More than me. More than Barling. He had great persistence.”

Skaggs most famous case was detailed in L.A Times reporter Jill Leovy’s outstanding book “Ghettoside”. All of Skaggs talents are revealed as he successfully investigates the killing of Bryant Alexander Tennelle, son of LAPD homicide detective Wallace Tennelle. 

“If you read the book,”. Leovy said, “It might seem like John is a caricature of a homicide detective, But, in reality, I downplayed him. He really cares deeply about the cases. He has this laser focus. By the way, he thought “Ghettoside” was a book about the [Tennelle] case and everything else in it was just filler.”

Two men were convicted of Tennelle’s murder and both are in prison.

Of, course, all the murders weren’t solved. One of them was the 2006 Watts killing of 25-year-old Anthony Wayne Owens, Jr. shot to death at Imperial Courts housing project.

But, mention Skaggs to Anthony’s mother and she passionately praises him.

“That there is a good man,” says Cynthia Mendenhall, much better known in Watts as community activist Sista Soulja.  When she is told Skaggs is retiring, Sista gets silent for several seconds before saying “For real? You’re gonna make me cry.”

“John Skaggs treated me and my family like we were his family,” said Sista, a former PJ Crip who turned peacemaker and community activist more 20 years ago.  “John was hurt he couldn’t solve Tony’s murder. But, he just couldn’t get what he wanted from the people that knew.  He took it personally.  He is, I guess now was, a great detective. He wasn’t there for the check. He was there for the people.  It was like he was on a mission to catch killers before another innocent life was lost”

Lashell Lewis is mother whose son’s murder was solved by Skaggs. 

In March, 2004, Edwin Johnson, 18, was visiting friends at 97th and Hickory in the Jordan Downs housing project in Watts. A car of rival drove by and Edwin was shot five times.

The mom said that though her son was born in L.A. , he was raised in Big Bear which did not prepare him for the mean streets.

“My son, not being raised in Watts, didn’t know how to dodge bullets,” said Lewis. “I was devastated. I put my faith in John.”

Eight months later, Skaggs having pulled out his main tools – perseverance, charm, trust, sincerity and respect –  solved the case.

“John treated me as a human person with love, kindness and respect,’ said Lewis. “He assured me he would not give up. He treated me, ya know, with love. I think of him not so much as a friend, but more like a big cousin or an uncle.”

March, 2006 – LAPD Officer Sam Marullo and his homicide training officer Det. John Skaggs are driving by the sprawling U.S. Post Office facility on Central and Florence avenues in South Central Los Angeles.

Marullo’s preparing himself to give a “notification” to mother whose 17-year-old son has been killed near Nickerson Gardens.

 Skaggs points at the post office.

 “You know, Sammy, this is the largest mail facility west of the Mississippi.”

 Marullo doesn’t even look up and just says “They must have stamps for days.”

Marullo, who formally became a homicide detective in February, 2014, is grateful for Skaggs’ mentorship. Still, he enjoys chiding Skaggs about the mail facility.

“Every single time we passed that place he would say that. ‘This is the largest mail facility west of the Mississippi.” And most every time I would act as though I hadn’t already heard that.  

When it came Marullo’s time to train officers, he followed his mentor’s tradition of telling them about the mail facility.

“I would then say, ‘Did I already tell you that?’ and they would say “Yeah, about three times.’ Millennials. I guess I came from a different era because each of the 15 times John told me that, I act as though it was the first time I heard that useless fact.”

Marullo said Skaggs had high expectations of him and that made him work harder and smarter.

“I find myself placing those same expectations on the trainees with whom I've worked.”

Marullo went on.

“John was dedicated to working murders.  He sacrificed half of his life to chasing killers.  He always left a positive impression on the victims' families and always followed through with his promise to do all that he could to find the person who killed their loved one. He is not only a mentor, but a friend.”  

This morning, shortly after 9 a.m., Skaggs landed at LAX after a week in Memphis and headed for his last shift.

“I’m leaving with a ton of great memories and a few bad ones after 30 years of service,” said Skaggs. “It was an awesome ride.”

Maybe if Frank Bullitt and Dirty Harry Callahan were real, they coulda learned a few things from John Skaggs, the big city detective with the small town heart. Check out the photo below. That’s a real homicide detective. Ain’t nothing Hollywood about it.

FBI Operative Known As "The Magnet" Said To Be Pizzeria Mozza Newport GM Doug Zamensky

For several years, it was presumed that Pizzeria Mozza Newport general manager Doug Zamensky, the red-headed Idaho native who earned a dubious reputation as one of America's most likely robbery victims, was simply a small-town guy. in over his head in the big, bad city.

Friday however, Krikorian Writes, the Washington Post and Orange County Register all broke the story that Zamensky is actually a highly regarded operative known as "The Magnet" working with the FBI to draw out some of the most hardened criminals in Southern California. 

The FBI would neither confirm or deny the reports, however sources in the fabled agency leaked a shocking video of a stolen taxi cab speeding into the parking lot of Pizzeria Mozza in Newport Beach on Pacific Coast Highway with a Newport Police Department SUV hot on its tail. Seconds later, as the parking valet watches. four policemen are seen sprinting back toward PCH in hot pursuit of the suspects who jumped the wall separating the restaurant from a Ferrari dealership.

In a separate video obtained by Krikorian Writes only,  Zamensky is briefly seen looking out of a Mozza door to the parking lot waiting. according to the sources, for the stolen cab to appear. A mere 31 seconds after Zamensky opened the door to the parking lot, the stolen cab appears and the suspects exit and run off.

A source explained how Zamensky became "The Magnet."

"The first robbery was legit,"  said a law enforcement sources speaking on the condition of anonymity and referring to an armed La Brea Avenue holdup in which Zamensky was the victim. "But, RHD (LAPD'S Robbery Homicide Division) started using Doug as a set up victim.  They'd put Doug in an area and watch him. Pretty soon he would get robbed. We got Rollin 60s, Grape, Florencia, even remnants of the old Weather Underground. Doug became known as 'Th Magnet'. He's a legend."

In the latest case in Newport, the taxi cabs thieves were allegedly part of a ring that would steal just about anything and sell it at the swap meet. One of the alleged robbers is said to have a warrant out for his arrest issued by RHD. 

Zamensky could not be reached for comment. 

The Tweets Of Bana Alabed, 7-Year-Old Girl in Aleppo

Sept. 26, 2016 - good afternoon from #Aleppo I'm reading to forget the war

Oct. 27, 2016 The tooth fairy is afraid of the bombing here, it run away to its hole. When the war finishes, it will come- Bana

Nov. 28   This is our house, My beloved dolls died in the bombing of our house. I am very sad but happy to be alive. - Bana

Nov. 29, 2016 This is my reading place where I wanted to start reading Harry Potter but it's bombed. I will never forget

From Bana's mother, Fatemah

Dec. 5  Under attack. Nowhere to go, every minute feels like death. Pray for us. Goodbye - Fatemah #Aleppo

Dec. 12 Final message - I am very sad no one is helping us in this world, no one is evacuating me & my daughter. Goodbye - Fatemah #aleppo

From Bana

Dec. 13, 2016  My name is Bana, I'm 7 years old. I am talking to the world now live from East #Aleppo. This is my last moment to either live or die. - Bana

From Bana's mother, Fatemah

Dec. 14, 4:27 a.m  Dear world, there' intense bombing right now. Why are you silent? Why? Why? Why? Fear is killing me & my kids. #Aleppo

.

Court of Appeals Rules To Drop 2 Murders From Big Evil's Case, Three Charges Remain

The Court of Appeals has ruled that Cleamon Johnson, infamously known as "Big Evil",  was himself the victim of "vindictive prosecution" and dropped two murder charges and one attempted murder charge from his case.  The appeals court, however, did not rule to drop another murder that was added in 2014 to the 89 Family Swans' existing double murder retrial.

The same court had ruled in Dec. 2011 that Johnson's 1997 double murder conviction be overturned because a juror leaning toward acquittal had been wrongly dismissed by the presiding  judge.  Johnson  and co-defendant Michael "Fat Rat" Allen - were transferred from San Quentin to Los Angeles' Men's Central Jail where they have been for nearly five years awaiting retrial for the killings of Peyton Benoit and Donald Ray Loggins who were shot to death at a car wash on 88th Street and Central Avenue in 1991.

As that case was not a lock - the key witness, Freddie Jelks, now dead, was himself facing serious charges - detectives and the district attorney's office sought to bolster the case against Johnson, who was one of the city's most notorious gang member.s They add four charges - the three murders and one attempted murder.  

The Los Angeles District Attorney's Office alleged Georgia Denise "Nece" Jones, Albert Sutton and Tyrone Mosley were all killed or ordered killed by Johnson.  While Johnson was in Ironwood State Prison, Jones was shot and killed June 12, 1994 at 87th Place and Wadsworth Avenue in the 89 Family neighborhood. Sutton was also killed in that neighborhood. Mosley was shot and killed in September 15, 1991 on 97th Street and McKinley Avenue, a 97 East Coast Crip neighborhood. A fourth man was shot, but survived. 

The Jones and Mosley cases and the wounding were ordered dropped by the appeals court. 

Sunday while receiving a visitor at Men's Central Jail, Johnson expressed both pleasure with the court's ruling and confidence he beat would be the remaining cases   Unfazed that a cousin, Leon Johnson, had "gave him up" in the Sutton murder, he said he has uncovered new information that will lead to his acquittal in all the cases.  Last year, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Sam Ohta ruled Johnson be allowed to have a laptop to review his case.

Sidewinder's Last Ride - Rayford Miles, "The Savior of St. Andrews Park", Is Laid To Rest

 "So let the sideshow begin,... Hurry, hurry, step right on in...Can't afford to pass it by.. Guaranteed to make you cry" - 1974 R & B tune "Sideshow" by Blue Magic

There were two monumental funerals in the Southland this past week, one on Thursday and one on Friday.  One was for a white active cop and one was for a black former street gang leader. One arrested people for violent crimes for many years, the other was arrested for violent crimes many years ago. One was shot to death, execution style, the other died of cancer of the stomach.

They appeared, on the surface, to be about as opposite as two 50-something year-old humans could be in Southern California.

But, the bizarre thing about these two men is that they were very much alike and I believe if they had the chance to meet each other – at least in the 21st Century – they would have worked for a common cause, a cause they were both dedicated to; the well-being of young people. The copper and the gangsta mighta even been friends, or at least comrades in the never-ending struggle to help the disadvantaged youth.  

Now, just about everyone in town knows about Steve Owen, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s sergeant who was shot to death Oct. 5 while pursuing a burglar in Lancaster. Tales of him helping the downtrodden, of driving kids to school and making sure they had lunch money have been well-documented. His funeral was shown live on local television station who interrupted soap operas to broadcast it.

Unfortunately, not as many people – at least outside of the Westside of South-Central - knew about Rayford "Sidewinder" Miles, whose funeral Friday afternoon drew almost as many thousands of mourners as did Owen’s and should have been broadcast live, too.

So here’s to Rayford Miles, the co-founder of what became the 8 Trey Gangster Crips who himself transformed into "The Savior of St. Andrews Park" who died on Oct. 1st of stomach cancer.

How could, you might ask, the co-founder of one of the most notorious street gangs in the United States be remotely aligned or compared to a cop in someplace called Antelope Valley?  Read on and I’ll tell you how.

Rayford John Miles was born on Dec. 5, 1957 in Detroit, but by age three was living on the Eastside of the Southside of Los Angeles, around Main Street and Florence. He was by a sweet, loving child who relished putting together model cars, playing and watching sports and was a big fan of the local teams; the Dodgers, the Rams and the Lakers. He was also a “mama’s boy”.  

Back in the day, Sidewinder woulda probably kicked my ass from St. Andrews Park to Florence and Normandie if I ever called him a “Mama’s boy”, but his older sister Cynthia Miles Davis could get away with it, so I’ll put that claim on her.

“He was a mama’s boy,” said Cynthia, who spoke eloquently of her younger brother at Friday’s funeral at West Angeles Church of God in Christ on Crenshaw near 30th Street. “I would tell him that, even when he was older. He'd tell me "I'm not a little boy anymore, I'm a grown man."  I'm seven years older than Rayford, so I really didn't know his other side of him, because I got married and moved away,"

Judson Bacot, an original Westside Crip, said that when he went away to prison - for his role in the infamous 1972 “leather jacket murder” of Robert Ballou, Jr. at the Hollywood Palladium -  Rayford “was a boy playing sports in the park”

But, by the time Bacot was released 11 years later, Rayford had become “Sidewinder” and was “a for real Crip.”  He was given his nickname by two legends, "Big Hunchie" and Melvin "Skull" Farmer, because the way his mouth went to the side when he talked or smiled. Or looked hard. 

(Out of respect, I went to visit Rayford at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center a few weeks before he died and I got a dose of the "hard" and "soft" side of Sidewinder.   He wanted me to take a photo of him and put on Facebook to show his loved ones he was still battling.  The first two photos, he had  his thumb up and a fierce look. Even though the disease had taken close to 100 pounds away from his fighting weight, he still had the scowl.  I suggested maybe he could smile for the next photo.  He did. I showed him the three photos and he pointed to the smiling shot and said "That one.")

He had “hands” and a charisma that enabled him to connect with many people. But, by then, the original intent of the Crips, at least as espoused by the gang’s founder, Raymond Washington, to protect communities, had fractured.

Very briefly – without getting too far from Sidewinder’s funeral - when the original Westside Crips split up into various factions – most notably the Hoover Crips, Rollin’ 60 Crips and Original Westside Gangster Crips (which became the 8 Trey Gangsters - the sets got along. These were the days when Crips factions only beefed with various Bloods gangs. But, in 1979, said to be on March 8th, the shootings and killing began amongst Crip factions.

Since then, the street battles between 60s and Eight Trey have been among the deadliest in Los Angeles, if not America. .So, at the funeral, it was a sign of upmost respect when some veteran Rollin’ 60s showed up to pay their respect to Sidewinder.

"You don't find better people than Side," said original Rollin' 60 member Baby Face, who mulled about the church lobby with other 60s and Eighty Treys ."I have the up-most respect for him. He brought people together. Look around. I hope the younger people can learn from him."

Another triple OG 60 said the same. 

"I love him," said Robert "Slu" Addison. "Regardless of the beef between the two hoods, he was my friend."

Melvin Farmer, who with Shirley Matthews and the love of Rayford's life, Erika Gray, was at his side when he died, said he hoped the outpouring of respect would spread throughout the city. "We need to all come together." 

The funeral began with two scripture readings, one for the Old Testament,  Psalms 23, and one from the New Testament, Peter 5.  His obituary was read by Sil' Verr Loudermill and then a video was played.

Kleenex, the tissue company, did a very brisk business at Rayford’s funeral, especially during that video tribute which played Blue Magic’s 1974 hit “Sideshow” as background music.  When the lyrics at the top of this story rang out, there were some dry eyes in the church, but not very many. It’s always a memorable scene when men with 18-inch biceps who’ve done 18 years in Folsom or Pelican Bay or Susanville get teary-eyed.

After the video, heeding Rayford's last command, only two people spoke, a godson and a reverend.  

Reverend Joyce Reece Kitchen told the mourners that just because Rayford had died, did not mean his good work did, too.

“Alexander Graham Bell has long been in the grave, but the phone still rings. Thomas Edison is also buried, but the light still shines. And Rayford’s positive influences cannot be erased. Tomorrow, each of you should be Rayford to a child in need. If we all do that, Rayford Miles’ legacy will live on.”  

Rayford's godson, Philip Wiley, Sr., said he got lucky when his parents moved near the St. Andrews Park when he was a kid.

“We don’t get to choose where our parents move to, but in 1969 I was blessed to move to 83rd and St. Andrews,” said Wiley. “My parents didn’t know it because they died, but they moved me next to my guardian angel."

Wiley spoke lovingly of Rayford’s tough exterior and tender heart.

“He tried to have this mean front, but when you got to know him, he was the nicest man you’ve ever known. He taught me everything I needed to know about being a man. I was a knucklehead and he gave me a chance. Thanks to him, I earned a college degree. Three degrees. He was not only the best man at my wedding, be was the best man in my life. 

"When Rayford got out [of prison] I was all turnt up and ready for action.“ said Wiley. “But, Rayford said ‘No. We’re gonna change the whole thing at the park.’ Now, this is a park no one in the city wanted to go to. No one. Except the homies.”

But, under Rayford’s guidance and leadership, people, mainly kids, started going to St. Andrews Park and, well, making it what a park is meant to be. A place to play, a place to relax.  It wasn’t unusual for 250 kids to be at St. Andrews Park.  

“I hope tomorrow the homies pull in some kid, just like Side pulled me in," Wiley said.

The entire crowd suddenly rose as one and shattered the quiet of the church with a thunderous ovation.  

There weren’t any children playing in St. Andrews Park on Friday afternoon. Some were at the funeral. Some were home. But, today, Saturday, you can bet your last $83 dollars St. Andrews Park will be alive and well. 

Thanks to Rayford Miles. T,.I. P. Sidewinder.

Rayford "sidewonder" Miles is about to go on his final ride

The Hijacker At Pump #4

Three weeks back I turned into the 76 station on Vermont south of the 10, pulled up to pump #4, killed the engine, grabbed my phone and replied to a text. 

While I did, I heard some man talking to a lady refueling at the pump on the other side of mine.  He was that gas station guy eager to wipe your windows for some change. Though I didn't look up, the man sounded quite pleasant as he complemented the woman and what I assumed was her child on their good looks. 

By the time I finished texting, the lady was gone and the guy focused on me.

"Wash your windows, young man?"

I was still fresh off the inspiration of Muhammad Ali's funeral, which had so many wonderful tales of The Greatest's kindness to strangers, that I felt the "Ali in me" and didn't brush this fella off.

"Young man?" I said to the guy who looked a little like Dr. J, though not as tall. "I'm probably older than you.".

"I'm 71." 

"You look good. Where you from?" I asked.  You know - probably, maybe - that here in Los Angeles, those are the three most dangerous words in the English language.

But, the man simply said he was from a lot of places, including L.A.   "I lived here in 1971 and didn't come back for 35 years. Part the time, I was in prison."

"Oh. yeah? Where?” I asked, informing him – kind of proudly - that not even an hour ago I had sent two letters to two friends of mine in prison.

"I was at Soledad and Chino.”

All of this I have no reason to doubt. But, then he shifted gears.

"I broke out of Chino and went to LAX and I hijacked a plane to Cuba." He said it like he was describing going on a Sunday drive to Ojai. 

Oh, boy, Here we go. I got a real nut on my hands. By now, I'm at about 10 in the tank. Still, I'm enjoying the tale and so I encourage him.  

"Yeah, I got to Cuba and met up with Eldridge Cleaver and he helped me out."

"Good," I said, thinking I hadn't heard mention of the Black Panther leader for eons.  

He goes on. "Then I went to the Middle East and met Yasser Arafat. You remember him?" 

"'Course, I do." 

"I was with the PLO and,  after awhile,  I got shot. In the ass. Those Israelis don't play. But, I got away. Made it to Algeria. Then I went to Nigeria. But, the FBI finally caught up with me and brought me back and send me to Lompoc [Federal prison]. 

By then, I was screwing the gas cap back on. I gave him three dollars, shook his hand and asked his name. 

"Around here? I'm Joe Joe."

"I'll see you around." 

I drove off to West L.A. and after a few errands, went home.  An hour later, I thought about Joe Joe. What the hell? I looked up 1971 LAX hijackings 

I forgot - or probably never knew - there were so many airplane hijackings back then. About 15 for that year.  But, alas, none from LAX. This guy was a good story teller, but a better liar. 

Still, I gave it one more at bat, adding a couple more  words to the search, hoping, against the odds, for a hit.

Crack! "High fly ball into right field. She is........gone!" 

May 17, 2001 by Josh Meyer, Times Staff Writer. 

"A Los Angeles man who escaped from a California prison and hijacked a jet to Cuba more than three decades ago agreed to plead guilty Wednesday in exchange for 12 years in federal prison.

Byron Vaughn Booth, 56, signed an agreement to plead guilty today to federal charges of interference with a flight crew. He initially faced more serious charges of air piracy and kidnapping, for which he would have faced at least 20 years in prison if convicted.

Booth was deported from Nigeria earlier this year, after being arrested by local police with behind-the-scenes help from the FBI."

My gas station guy said he was 71. The story is about a guy 56. It was written 15 years ago.

Further down in the story.  

In January 1969, Booth and fellow inmate Clinton Robert Smith Jr. scaled a fence and escaped from the California Institution for Men in Chino….Both were considered model prisoners.

A day later, Booth and Smith boarded National Airlines Flight 64, bound for Miami with a stopover in New Orleans. After the DC-8 left New Orleans and headed over the Gulf of Mexico, Booth, armed with a .38-caliber handgun, and Smith, holding four sticks of dynamite, ordered the captain to fly to Cuba, authorities said.

Once there, Booth and Smith were taken into custody but were quickly released with the help of Black Panther Party leader Eldridge Cleaver, despite demands by U.S. authorities for their return.

Joe Joe, or rather Byron was telling the truth. though i guess with the year off. I went back. He wasn’t there.

I told my girlfriend this and she thought it was great story.  But, she had an interesting question. A good editor’s question. How did I know he just wasn't assuming this hijacker's identify? I was temporarily taken aback. But, why would anyone take this particular guy's identify?  I had a plan. I'd go back again and when I saw him, I'd simply say "How you doing, Byron?"

I did. The look on his face, well, it was like his eyes were reviewing his life in a handful of seconds. It was him. We talked for just a few minutes. I told him he reminded me of Dr.  J.

“Who’s that?”

“Julius Irving?  The basketball player?” He shook his head. “I guess you weren’t around when he was playing.”   

Last week, in the mail, I got a $40 check from my old friend Saji Mathai, a highly-respected copy editor at the L.A. Times.  He knows I sometimes send some money to inmates in prison - or ex-cons trying to stay straight and in need of a break - and he wanted to play a role.  He said it was my call who to give it to.

Last Monday, around 2 p.m., temp about 87, humidity about 50, I went by the gas station on Arlington. Byron Booth was there, looking clean in a bright orange T-shirt. As I walked to him, a woman handed him some change, most of which spilled onto the concrete. I bent down and helped the former skyjacker pick up about 14 pennies. He smiled and said "You tell Hollywood about me yet?" 

No. Instead, I told him about Saji and pulled out that $40. He looked at it for a long time - several seconds - before he took it.  “Tell this Saji he made my day.” We exchanged numbers and talked for a few. A few minutes later, he was walking southbound on Arlington over the 10.      

I’ve been thinking of Muhammad Ali almost as much lately as I did back in his glory days, those thrilling nights of title fights. I wish everyone in the world could see his funeral and get - or realize – the “Ali in me.”  Even if it’s only to talk a stranger at a gas station. They might not be an old airplane hijacker, but odds are they’ll have a story they’d love to tell. All you gotta do is supply the ears while you are pumping gas.

Saturday I went by the 76. Byron Booth wasn't there. But, as I debated If I should actually buy some gas, my cell light up. I had inputted him as "Hijacker".

He told me he wasn't as "the office" yet, but was on his way.  We made a quick plan to rendezvous close by, on Washington and 3rd Ave.  Two minutes later, I rolled the window down, shook his strong hand and gave him my novel. Inside I had stashed a few bucks. He appreciated. I told him I wouldn't see him for awhile as I was going out of town.

He asked if it was a road trip.  No, I said, I'll be flying.

He smiled mischievously and said "Don't get hijacked, man."

What could I say to that? I nodded with a smile and took off.

End of Part #1 of  "The Life of Byron Booth"  

Byron Booth at this office, the 76 station on arlington just north of the 10.

Court of Appeals "Tentatively" Rules In Favor Of Big Evil's Claim Of Vindictive Prosecution On Three Murder Charges

The saga of Cleamon "Big Evil" Johnson continues. 

The Court of Appeals has tentatively ruled in favor of a motion that argues Johnson is the target of vindictive prosecution, a claim that could led to three murders and an attempted murder charge being dropped against the infamous  89 Family Swans gang member.

Even if those charges are dismissed Johnson - and his co defendant Michael "Fat Rat" Allen - still face a retrial of the 1991 double murder of Payton Beroit and Donald Ray Loggins for which they spent more than 13 years on death row in San Quentin. That conviction was overturned in 2011 by the California Supreme Court which ruled that a juror, leaning toward acquittal, was wrongly removed by the judge, Charles E. Horan.

Johnson and Allen were sent back to the Los Angeles Men's Central Jail for a retrial  As they prepared to retry that case, the district attorney's office, aided by LAPD Robbery Homicide detectives, set out to find additional cases to pin on Johnson. Eventually, they filed the four additional charges.  This led Johnson's lawyers to file the claim of vindictive prosecution.  

A definitive ruling by the Court of Appeals is expected within two weeks.

When Johnson’s lead attorney, Robert Sanger, initially learned of the added charges, he was flabbergasted.

“After nearly 14 years on Death Row and the decision by the court to overturn the case, the addition of the three murder charges and one attempted murder was truly breathtaking,” Sanger said during the court of appeals hearing.

The prosecution argued to dropped the charges could lead to a dramatic change in strategy for other future capital cases.  

John Harlan of the district attorney's appellate division said that If these additional charges are not allowed to stand,  a so-called  “Kitchen sink” effect would evolve, meaning that prosecutors, fearing they would not be able to add additional charges later, would file every possible charge in the initial filing document.

Sanger countered.

“This [the added charges] would send a significant message to other people that if you attempt to appeal, you might end up with more cases. You just don’t pile on 187s (murders) and hope to get lucky on one.”  

According to a piece in the Yale Law Review,  legal "vindictiveness" does not refer to a prosecutor’s ill feeling toward, or even his desire to harm, a defendant. Rather, wrote Doug Lieb, a law clerk for the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, "As defined by the Supreme Court,vindictiveness means that a prosecutor has retaliated against a defendant for the exercise of a legal right, denying his/her due process."  

In addition to Beroit and Loggins - shot to death at a car wash in 1991 on 88th and Central  - the district attorney's office now alleges Georgia Denise "Nece" Jones, Albert Sutton and Tyrone Mosley were all killed or ordered killed by Johnson.  While Johnson was in Ironwood State Prison, Jones was shot and killed June 12, 1994 at 87th Place and Wadsworth Avenue in the 89 Family Swan neighborhood. Sutton was also killed in that neighborhood.  Mosley was shot and killed in September 15, 1991 on 97th Street and McKinley Avenue, a 97 East Coast Crips neighborhood.

Johnson, acting as his own lawyer,  was previously tried on the Mosley killing in 1998.. The result was a hung jury, well in his favor. 

If the vindictive prosecution is indeed granted, and the extra charges dropped. Johnson and Allen would be retried on the original double murder case.  However, that case was not a ":slam 'dunk" and relied much on the testimony of one Freddie "FM" Jelks, himself a gang member facing prison who was killed many years ago in an unrelated incident on the west side.. 

Sanger and co-counsel Victor Salerno were pleased as they left the courtroom. They were greeted by Johnson’s parents and his brothers.  Sanger was cautious with his optimism. Still, he admitted it was a good day in the court room, but the case was far from over.

"This might end up in the Supreme Court."

The above photo is many years old. Johnson is now 48 and that goatee is salted with grey. 

2 More L.A. Gang Killings; Man Beaten to Death 83rd & Western, Man Shot to Death on 105th & Lou Dillon in Watts

A 31-year-old man died Thursday morning from the injuries he suffered in a relentless beating by several men on Western Avenue and 83rd Street and, in Watts the previous evening, a 28-year-old man was shot to death.

James McDonald was beaten by up to six black males, ages about 20 to 30, Wednesday night, transported to a local hospital where he died today.  No arrests have been made as of Thursday afternoon. It was the 20th homicide of the year in LAPD's 77th Street Division, traditionally the city's deadliest division. 

Wednesday in Watts,  shortly before 6:30 p.m., the 28-year-old, a Hispanic, was standing at 105th Street and Lou Dillon Avenue when an unknown suspect in a dark gray or blue SUV fired on him, The man, whose name was not released, was struck in the head and pronounced dead at the scene by Los Angeles Fire Department responders

Both incidents are gang-related.  Anyone with information or either killing can call LAPD's Criminal Gang Homicide Division at (323) 786-5100

Two Saturday Homicides - National Guard Veteran Killed at 64th & Vermont, Woman Stabbed to Death on 83rd near Vermont

When LAPD officers responded Saturday afternoon to a disturbance call of a man with a knife at 83rd Street near Vermont Avenue, residents told them they had heard a woman screaming from a second floor apartment.

When officers went to the apartment they found a black woman, approximately 40 years old, bleeding badly from a knife wound to her stomach  She was pronounced dead at the scene.

A black man, 35-40, was  arrested and a bloody knife recovered.

No further details were available.

Earlier on Vermont Avenue near 64th Street, Charles Nevils, 33, was hanging out with several friends when he was shot. Neviles stumbled into Bottoms Up Liquor Store and died. 

His distraught family told KNBC news reporter Kate Lawson and KTLA's Ellina Abovian that Neviles was a good family man and veteran who had served nine years in the national guard.

"I don't understand the reason why they took my baby from me," his mother, Mira Bables, said as she stood near yellow police tape at the scene. She described Neviles as "a good father to his girls," ages 10 and 12, and said "he was a good son to me."

Adding to the sadness, Neviles deceased man's wife had died of cancer in 2009, the family said. 

"I would like for the world to know he was a very, very, very good person," said his sister Valerie Neviles.

Added Quintivia Abner, his niece: "He was a good father. He was a good uncle. So for somebody to kill him like this out here in the street wasn't right. We need justice."

Sorry for the cold nature of this brief report of two taken lives - and that local TV news was used,  but it is the only information available at the present time as this reporter is out of town. Still, I wanted to do something as these two stories will soon be forgotten and they shouldn't be. 

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